MERRIMAC — The Merrimac Police Department Drone Unit located a missing 8-year-old boy in a wooded area near his home on Thursday morning, and then led police K-9 units directly to the boy.
On Thursday, Oct. 23, at 8:16 a.m., the Merrimac Police Department was notified that an 8-year-old boy walked away from his home on West Main Street.
An immediate search of the boy’s home and the immediate area turned up nothing, so Merrimac Police activated its Drone Unit and requested assistance from other law enforcement agencies.
Merrimac Fire, the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council K-9 Unit, Drone Unit, and Incident Command Team all responded, as did Amesbury Police, State Police, the State Police Air Wing, and the Essex County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit.
At approximately 9:28 a.m., the 8-year-old was located by Merrimac Police Officer William David, who was operating the department’s drone over a wooded area behind the boy’s home. Officer David then radioed to K-9 units on the ground and guided them to the boy’s location in the woods.
The boy was found to be wet, but uninjured. He was returned home by police.
“This shows exactly why we invested in creating a Drone Unit for the Merrimac Police Department,” said Chief Shears. “We were able to quickly deploy our drone, and it ultimately succeeded in locating this boy in a wooded and hard-to-reach location. I want to recognize the teamwork of the Drone Unit and all the officers on the ground. This was an excellent outcome.”
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